GEORGE TOWN: The police have ruled out physical abuse in the death of a Cambodian maid in Penang on July 17.

Penang CID deputy chief ACP Mohd Nasir Salleh said today a pathologist at Kepala Batas Hospital ascertained that the maid, Choy Pich, 22, had died of pneumonitis or inflammation of the lungs.

The maid was found dead at the rear of her employer's house in Taman Robina in Seberang Perai Utara at 7.50 am on July 17. She had been working for five months.

Mohd Nasir dismissed a report on an online news portal that the maid had died following physical abuse.

The hospital examination showed an absence of injuries on the body except for a bruise on a cheek which could have been caused by a fall, he told reporters.

Neighbours and the proprietor of a nearby shop questioned during the police investigation said the maid had not complained of having been abused by her employer, he said.

He also said that the employment agency had informed the police that the maid had worked under favourable conditions and that a representative of the Cambodian embassy had accepted the outcome of the police probe and the post mortem result.

The police were awaiting a blood test report from the hospital to rule out the possibility of death due to poisoning, he said, adding that they had recorded the case as sudden death.

Mohd Nasir said the police would investigate the news portal report on the incident and record a statement from the writer.

In the report, the news portal had stated that Cambodian MP Mu Sochua (photo) had sought a clarification over the maid's death which it claimed was brought on by physical abuse by the employer and that the police had been bribed to resolve the case quickly.

Aliran is alarmed and seriously concerned over the possible consequences to Dr Jeyakumar's health resulting from his hunger strike undertaken yesterday.

His health has not been really good. He was hospitalised twice within the first two weeks of detention. His heart condition is of grave concern to the thousands of Malaysians and friends from all over the world.

His hunger strike will further take a toll on his health. His health is bound to deteriorate endangering him.

The Barisan Nasional government has driven him to take this drastic action as an ultimate step to proclaim to the world of his innocence against the diabolic lies leveled at him for his totally unjustified detention.

He is putting his faith in God and putting his life on line to state that the accusations against him are nothing but blatant lies.

This is the only choice left ultimately for the brave and the innocent who are persecuted by a brutal government.

This is a moral stand, in keeping with the Gandhian principles of non-violence, that challenges the conscience of the BN to prove their false accusations and charge him in court.

There comes a time in the life of the brave when a moral person chooses to "stand tall and deliver rather than stoop on bended knees cowering for forgiveness of the life he has chosen to live".

Kumar has chosen a path that paves the way for the downtrodden to walk with dignity. That is a noble path and there is no reason to renounce it.

If anything untoward were to happen – God forbid – we in Aliran as well as all Malaysians will not forgive the BN. This cruel government will be held responsible for this.

The backlash arising from this unspeakable tragedy will punish the BN severely at the next polls. Yes, and mercilessly too!The writer is president of Aliran

KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) apologised to English Premier League side Chelsea after anti-semitic abuse was allegedly directed at Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun during a friendly last week.

In a statement released on Friday, the FAM did not confirm the abuse took place at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on July 21 but said that if it did, it was only from a small minority of the 80,000 supporters in attendance.

"The FA of Malaysia would like to strongly register that we do not condone any form of racism in football," the statement read.

"If such an incident did happen we would like to apologise to the player concerned and also to Chelsea FC.

"From our initial observations, if such an incident took place, it would have involved a small section of spectators at the match. This surely does not reflect the feelings of the majority of fans in this football-loving country."

Malaysia has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Chelsea did not make a complaint after the match and have since continued their pre-season tour in Hong Kong, where they released a strongly worded statement on Wednesday concerning the alleged incidents.

"We believe Yossi was subjected to anti-semitic abuse by a number of supporters at the game." Chelsea said. "Such behavior is offensive, totally unacceptable and has no place in football."

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) today urged the police not to force-feed Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael D Jeyakumar who is being detained under the Emergency Ordinance.

"While we are concerned about the possible detrimental effects of this hunger strike on Jeyakumar's health – more so as he has been brought to the hospital for heart problems twice since his initial arrest almost a month ago – we must also respect Jeyakumar's right to this non-violent form of protest.

"In this regard, the MMA calls upon the authorities to respect international human rights law and not to resort to force-feeding as a means of ending Jeyakumar's protest," MMA president Mary Suma Cardosa said.

"The World Medical Association (WMA) – the body that establishes ethical guidance for doctors around the world – states that force-feeding by any means is considered as unethical and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment," she said.

Jeyakumar started his hunger strike yesterday morning as a protest for his release along with five other PSM activists who have been detained under EO since July 2 for allegedly being prime movers of Bersih 2.0.

Cardosa also urged all doctors to respect Jeyakumar's decision to use hunger strike as a form of protest based on WMA's Tokyo Declaration signed in 1985 and the Malta Declaration on Hunger Strikers (1991).

The WMA Tokyo Declaration (1985) states that a prisoner capable of forming unimpaired and rational judgment on the consequences of voluntary refusal of food must not be forced-fed. The prisoner's capacity should be confirmed by at least one independent physician who will also explain the consequences.

The WMA Malta Declaration calls for doctors to prevent coercion or maltreatment of detainees, respect detainees' choice to go on hunger strike and to ensure their medical assessments are influenced by third parties for non-medical purposes.

In line with the Malta Declaration, MMA also urged the authorities to appoint a physician from MMA to manage Jeyakumar 's fasting.

She said MMA's involvement is vital because "we can be assured of his health and welfare and can communicate this with his family and friends on a regular basis, and can intervene medically if and when appropriate, while respecting Jeyakumar's autonomy and right to carry out this form of non-violent protest".

'Lies from the police'

Meanwhile, Tanjong MP, Chow Kon Yeow, questioned Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar's statement that "all six PSM activists are well taken care of" as reported in the mainstream media.

"This is another lie by the authorities. I urge that the six be released immediately and unconditionally," Chow said in a press statement today.

On charges against the six that ranged from waging war against the King to spreading communism and being a prime mover of the Bersih 2.0 rally, Chow said the detention is political in nature without factual basis.

"The police should stop imagining things and must accept that the outpouring of public support indicates that people no longer find their actions credible.

"The detention is a cruel act… Where is Ismail's conscience?"

Chow also took a swipe at the police who detained Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hooi Cheng in 2008 on the pretext of protection.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he (Ismail) further claims that the EO detention is an act of kindness. After all, didn't the police once justified the ISA detention of Tan by saying that locking her up was to protect her?

"Denying the PSM detainees their freedoms and subjecting them to questionable practices, including supposed polygraph tests, are not acts of kindness. Forcing detainees to sign statements they don't understand is not kind.

"There is no kindness in going back on promises for family visitations. Severely limiting access to legal counsel is not an act of kindness,"said Chow.

The launch of Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) last Friday by Tengku Razaleigh was not well reported by the mainstream media. That's not at all surprising, but it's still regrettable. Any movement – political or otherwise – that seeks to promote unity in the country deserves support from all quarters. We are a divided country; that is obvious for anyone to see. To know that some of our erstwhile leaders (mainly from BN) are getting together to declare "enough is enough" and target the present malaise gives hope to many Malaysians.

BEIRUT: Now back in the safety of his home in Beirut, Bassel al-Oud recalls the attack on Utoya island in Norway and the horror, fear and panic as a gunman went on a shooting spree last week, killing 68 people.

Eight more died in a bomb blast in Oslo in the deadliest violence in Norway since World War II.

Al-Oud, who is in his late 20s, said that after living all his life in a country torn apart by war, this was his first encounter with "absolute horror".

"At first, when I heard the shooting and people around me started to panic, I thought why they are panicking? Gunshots, so what? In Lebanon we hear them everyday," al-Oud, who was the only Lebanese participating in the camp, told the German Press Agency dpa.

"But few seconds later, I realised the truth and saw a massacre with my own eyes."

Yesterday, at his home in a Beirut neighbourhood, he recalled what he described as "horrifying moments" and how he survived the Utoya island massacre.

Al-Oud was taking part in a camp with 600 other people, mainly teenagers and young adults, organised by the youth wing of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's ruling Labour Party.

"People were running over rocks, they held their breath under water. They hid under beds and climbed trees to escape the bullets being fired by a cold-blooded murderer disguised as a policeman and was shooting at everyone, even little children who pleaded with him not to shoot them," al-Oud said.

Anders Behring Breivik, the accused gunman who is now in custody, spent more than two hours hunting down his terrified victims, according to the survivor of the bloodbath.

Man on a mission

Al-Oud, who escaped the massacre by swimming to shore with two others, described the shooter as "a man who was on a mission, and he believed in what he was doing".

"From our hiding place I could see him – a man in control of his weapon and in full mental state," al-Oud told dpa.

He said that shortly before the man entered the camp, the young people were discussing the blast that had rocked Oslo's government district earlier in the day, and the camp attendees had just come out of a briefing on the attack when they saw the gunman.

According to al-Oud, who returned from Norway two days ago, people at first believed he was a police officer, but in a few seconds they realised he was "a man out to kill them and not to protect them as he pretended at first".

"I and some other people managed to run out through a back door and hid in a place where we could still see the killer shooting. When we saw him approaching the area we were in, we rushed and swam (away from) the island," al-Oud said, adding that the attacker was also shooting at the swimmers.

"He wanted to kill as many as he can. That is how he appeared to us. We saw him kicking the dead bodies on the ground to make sure they are not alive," al-Oud said.

"I would not imagine such a man who spent more than two hours hunting down his terrified victims to be mentally sick."

YANGON: A 2014 World Cup qualifier between Myanmar and Oman was abandoned after home fans in the Yangon stadium pelted the pitch with rocks, shoes and water bottles, a government official said today.

A member of the Oman coaching staff suffered a head injury as the Myanmar supporters went on the rampage after the away team took a 2-0 lead in the game at the Tuwana stadium yesterday, the Myanmar official told AFP.

"The match was stopped after the first 39 minutes because security forces lost control of the Myanmar football fans," he said, adding that about 30,000 supporters were at the ground in total.

The identity of the injured man could not immediately be confirmed.

A statement on the website of world footballing body Fifa confirmed the match was "brought to a sudden close" after "local supporters hurled objects repeatedly onto the field".

"The final status of the match will be confirmed by the relevant body in due course," Fifa said.

Oman won the previous round 2-0.

Soe Moe, a media director at the Myanmar Football Federation, said the MFF had apologised and would have to explain events to Fifa.

He expressed concern that the country could be banned from hosting future fixtures.

"The country could be harmed if they decide not to hold any international games in Myanmar because of some violent audience members. The country's dignity is hurt because of them," he said, adding that he suspected people in the crowd were drunk.

He said Fifa rules meant the host country can face financial penalty if an object is found to have been thrown on to the pitch.

"But thousands of things were thrown inside the ground. Can you imagine how we will face Fifa's response?" he said.

The Myanmar official said some of the fans sang the national anthem as they threw objects onto the pitch. "The Oman goalkeeper dared not to stay on the ground."

A witness to the violence said some players may have been hit.

MFF chairman Zaw Zaw was struck by projectiles from the stands as he tried to calm supporters, Soe Moe said.

"We do not blame all audience members, but people should not commit these kinds of actions in the future if they really love football," Soe Moe added.

Football is the most popular sport by far in Myanmar.

The country, which has a new nominally civilian government after nearly 50 years of army rule, has made efforts to become more internationally active.

It is set to host the SEA Games, a Southeast Asian sporting tournament, in 2013.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's press today heaped praise on the city-state's foreign-born footballers following its 6-4 aggregate win over arch-rivals Malaysia in the Asian World Cup 2014 qualifiers.

"Born in China, 100% S'porean" said local tabloid the New Paper, with the words juxtaposed to a photograph of a euphoric Shi Jiayi, the China-born midfielder who scored the equalising goal in yesterday's 1-1 draw.

The picture's background featured banners unfurled by Malaysian fans with the messages "100% Malaysians, NO FOREIGNERS" and "100% PURE MALAYSIAN," highlighting pre-match sneers of Singapore's over-reliance on its naturalised players.

Singapore drew 1-1 with Malaysia yesterday evening at Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Jalil Stadium in the second leg of its round two Asian World Cup qualifiers.

This ensured the city-state's progression after a 5-3 win in the first leg in Singapore.

But the euphoria was tempered by criticism from many Singaporeans that all six goals scored over the two legs came from naturalised players Aleksandar Duric and Fahrudin Mustafic who were born in Yugoslavia, as well as China-born Shi Jiayi and Qiu Li.

Singapore's coach, Raddy Avramovich is Serbian.

The criticism reflects a general sentiment against the influx of foreign workers into the wealthy island-state, which Singaporeans say has resulted in overcrowding and loss of jobs for locals.

In a commentary entitled "Pride of Singapore, no doubt about it", the New Paper's sports editor said the foreign-born football players displayed their loyalty and affection for the city-state on and off the pitch.

"Singapore won the match. Though he was born in China, Shi Jiayi is 100 percent Singaporean," he said.

In the Straits Times, a photograph of the Singapore team celebrating its win dominated the front page, with the picture's focus on naturalised player Daniel Bennet, formerly a Briton, raising his arms in triumph.

The headline next to the photo declared "Lions Tame Tigers" in reference to the teams' respective mascots.